Wolf Creek Enforcer (4 page)

Ian
smiled, slightly surprised.  Just being in her presence calmed him, that urgent feeling he had was gone.  He wanted what his parents and brother had, and just maybe, the universe was smiling down on him. 

Ian found a nice hotel and pulled in front
, keeping an eye on her in the truck while he checked in.  He didn’t want to wake her, knowing how tired she was.  Now that he’d found his mate, his protective instincts had kicked in.  He didn’t like leaving her alone but she was still sleeping when he’d turned the truck off.

Once he had the key card, Ian o
pened the passenger side door.  Melanie grumbled when he lifted her into his arms and carried her into the lobby

The hotel clerk
watched as Ian came through the door.  Normally it was parents carrying their sleeping children and not a grown woman.  “Is she alright?” the clerk asked, concerned. 

Melanie o
pened her eyes and gave a small wave of assurance to the hotel clerk before snuggling back up against Ian’s chest.  “I’m good, just really tired.”

Ian was again amazed at how tiny she seemed.  Her weight was nothing in his arms.  Gently laying her on the bed, he brushed her hair
back and kissed her forehead.  Regretfully, he had to go back to get their bags and park the truck.  “I’ll be right back.”

He quietly closed the hotel ro
om door and heard the snick as it latched.  Ian quickly found a parking space and grabbed the bags from the back seat. 

Opening the
door to their room, he saw that she had not moved at all.  He sat her backpack on a chair and took his duffel bag into the bathroom and showered.

He put on a pair of running shorts before leaving the bathroom.  Normally he slept in the nude
, but he doubted she would appreciate him getting into bed with her naked.  He’d requested a king sized bed as he saw no reason to get two queens or doubles. 

He contemplated leaving her jeans on but they were dusty from the rode and just looked uncomfortable.
Deciding to remove them, if she woke up, she could finish undressing herself. 

He started with her shoes and then moved on to her jacket. 
Seeing her pink shirt underneath, he smiled as he realized that must be her favorite color.  Such a girly shade, he thought. 

Next he contemplated how to get her jeans off.  He could use his claws but didn’t think she would appreciate his shredding her clothes.  Gritting his teeth, he undid the top button and slowly slid the zipper down.  Then he tried to work the jeans over her hips.
 

Melanie lifted her hips to help him get her jeans
off.  She was still very sleepy and just wanted them off so she could roll over and go back to sleep.

Ian jerked his gaze up to her face and saw she was barely awake.  Once he had them over her hips, he grabbed the bottoms and quickly pulled them off.
  He decided to leave her thermals on to protect her modesty.  Lifting her up, he yanked the covers down and gently laid her on the bed.  Covering her up, he reached over and turned out the lights.

He heard a quietly mumbled thank you as he lifted the covers and slid in beside her.  His wolf was happy with her so close
, and Ian found himself falling asleep almost immediately.

Waking
the next morning, he lay still, feeling her stare.  Lying on his back, he slowly opened his eyes and turned his head to where she lay. 

“Good morning,”
his voice was gravelly. 

Melanie was lying on her si
de with her head propped up in her hand.  With her other hand, she wiggled her fingers and Ian felt a tingling in his mouth. 

“What the hell was that?” he asked, confused.

“Morning breath.  Doesn’t your mouth taste better now?” she asked, smiling.

“Are you a witch?” he asked.

“Nope. I was too sleepy to shower last night, so you just sleep a little longer while I get cleaned up,” she grabbed her bag and closed the bathroom door. 

Ian closed his eyes.  It was going to take some time to get used to her little surprises. 
Since they had a long drive ahead, he’d wait to dig more information out of her.

Ian lay there
, studying the ceiling, but not really seeing it.  Feeling off balance, he thought about how much his life was going to change.  Knowing he would never be a ‘go with the flow’ kind of guy, he groaned.  His life had always been about structure.  He’d loved being in the marines, finding the chain of command and discipline required was right up his alley.  

Throwing off the covers
, Ian stood and stretched the kinks out of his back.  He would have liked to shift and run through some woods, but knew he couldn’t do that while staying in a strange city. 

Instead, he dropped to the floor and started doing pushups.  By the time he reached a hundred, he heard the bathroom door open.  Ian continued,
thinking another hundred just might take the edge off.

He saw Melanie’s feet a
s she sat in a chair across from him.  Glancing up, he noticed she had put on a purple t-shirt with clean blue jeans.  The shirt was a nice compliment to her eyes.  Ian moaned quietly, now he was getting poetic. 

Melanie was staring at his chest and arms.  His biceps bulged, straining to push his body up.  His chest had great definition
.  She couldn’t help noticing he was ripped.  Nice pecs too.  She decided she was a lucky, lucky, girl.  She couldn’t wait to run her fingers through that tempting brown hair.  Maybe ask him to tie it back so she could simply stare at his face.  The dark whiskers along his jawline screamed for her to run her cheek alongside his.

“We need to talk,” he said ominously.

Melanie jumped, her fantasy evaporating like a puff of smoke. 

She wouldn’t let it show, but he intimidated her a little bit.  He was just so huge!  His height and width
were impressive.  She was picturing him in a kilt with a sword swinging above his head when he suddenly jumped up.  She startled a little, scooting back in her chair.

“Okay, go ahead,” she said, smiling.

Ian ran his hand through his hair, growling.

“Not me, you.  I want to know what’s going on.  Why were you on that road?  Why walk, and especially alone?” he barked.

Melanie hesitated, thinking about how to explain her
compulsion to be on that road.

“
Don’t you need to go to the bathroom before we talk?  I know most people do first thing in the morning,” she said innocently.

“Melanie!” he roared.

“Alright. Chill. You’re obviously not a morning person,” she sniffed dismissively. 

Grinding his teeth, he looked to the ceiling for patience.

She took her time.  Even though she was anxious, she tried not to show it.  She rather enjoyed messing with him, she found. 

“I felt a compulsion to hit the road.  It pulled me south
from Albuquerque.  I knew I had to go.  I didn’t have a choice.  I also knew I was supposed to walk, not drive.  Don’t ask me how or why, it’s beyond anything I’ve felt before.  But it wasn’t a bad feeling and I was going toward my destiny,” she finished solemnly. 

Ian
sat on the edge of the bed.  That was exactly what he had felt.  He wasn’t sure what to make of it.  His brother hadn’t said anything about feeling like this before he met Lisa.

“Your turn.  Why were you on that road?” she asked, but knew the answer.

“Same as you.  A compulsion guided me there.  What I don’t understand is how your family could allow you to go off on your own with absolutely no protection,” he said grimly. 

“
This is not the seventeenth century and my family has faith in me.  They know I can take care of myself,” she stated, firmly. 

“What I want to know is, how? 
What exactly are you?  And don’t tell me that’s rude.  You know I’m a wolf, yet I don’t know what you are.  You use magic casually as if you’ve been doing it all your life,” he said.

“I’ve
had magic all my life.  As far as what I am, I’m a druid.  I come from a family of druids. That’s as much as I can tell you right now, and that’s only because I understand you will be my mate, since I felt the connection to you. 

“There is no ‘will be’.  You are my mate.  Obviously you know about shift
ers and understand that you’re mine.  Since you don’t need any time to adjust, we might as well do the mating right now,” Ian said, knowing he was pissing her off, but couldn’t help himself.

Melanie
stared at him in shock, amazed at his audacity.

“You ass!  I am not having sex with you just so you can bite me and be done with it.  I prefer to know the person I’ll be with the rest of my life.  Although, right now, that could change,” she yelled as she stalked to the bathroom and slammed the door. 

“Shit,” Ian knew he’d screwed up, again.  His temper got the better of him.  He could hear her slamming her things around as she packed her bag.  Great.  Now he would have to apologize.  That was not something he was used to doing. 

Melanie slammed the door open as she marched out.  “You know what?  I believe it’s time I called a taxi and went to the airport.  I don’t care what
fate decided, I won’t be mated to a jackass,” she yelled at him.

“Melanie,” Ian said quietly.  “I’m sorry.  This is all new to me.  I’m used to being in control and this is beyond anything I’ve dealt with before.  I apologize for bei
ng a jerk.  Or jackass.  I’d really like to get to know you better, I need your patience while I adjust.”

Melanie
silently walked over to the bed and sat beside him.  She reached over and took hold of his hand, squeezing it.  Ian stared at their entwined hands, marveling once again at how small her hand looked in his huge mitt. 

“I accept your apology.  You’ll find as you get to know me, I don’t hold a grudge.  That takes too much energy.  Why don’t we go eat breakfast and act lik
e a normal couple getting to know one another,” she said quietly.

She was gracious too, Ian thought.  Now he felt like an even bigger jerk.

“Thanks,” Ian said roughly.  He felt like he should probably grovel, but he didn’t know how. 

Walking to the restaurant next to their hotel, Ian
slid his hand down her arm, capturing her hand.  He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but touching her calmed the wolf in him. 

As they walked through the entrance, a man brushed by, his arm skimming along Melanie’s.  Ian growled.  Melanie laughed.

Sliding into a booth, Melanie sighed, “I love that growl.  It’s so sexy.  I get goose bumps.”

“I don’t want other men touching you,” Ian
snarled.

“That may be somewhat difficult,” Melanie said, solemnly. 

“No it won’t.  I’ll handle it,” Ian leaned back in the booth.

“No!  You don’t understand,” Melanie said, chewing on her lower lip.  “People,” she paused, “Men, women, children, even animals are attracted to me.  I sort of draw them in.  I guess you’d say they get good vibes from me,” she finished, shrugging her shoulders.

“Let me get this straight,” Ian said through gritted teeth.  “Random people are going to come up and touch you?  Not happening,” he told her grimly. 

Melanie huffed, crossing her arms.  “You can’t stop it.  I help people, give them a little
touch of joy.”

“What are you?  A freaking fairy?  Do you sprinkle pixie dust everywhere you go?” he snarled.

Tilting her head loftily, as if she were a queen looking down on her subjects, she said, “You’re being an ass again,” then calmly picked up her menu.

Ian felt his jaw just might crack from grinding his teeth together.  Why couldn’t this be simple?  Find your mate.  Claim them.  Live happily ever after, or whatever. 

She was like those people you’ve met that you instantly want to hang around with, those individuals with natural charisma.  Ian knew he didn’t have it, and was perfectly fine with that.  He was also realizing just how much his life would be changing.  She drew people to her.  Everyone liked her. 

Ian groaned, knowing life with her woul
d be a challenge.  He was coming to terms with it.  Imagining the future, he saw that as a couple, she would be the outgoing one.  He would follow in her shadow, protecting her.

“This is not going to work, if I can’t be me,” she said sadly. 

Ian understood.  He knew he would have to share her with the world.  “I don’t want you to change.  It’s my problem, and I’ll work it out.”

Knowing they would be living with his pack calmed him.  At least there
, everyone was basically family.  He didn’t have to worry about the male shifters in their den.  They were all pretty much intimidated by him.  He grinned at that thought.

“Why are you smiling?” she asked, smiling with him.

“Just thinking about my pack.  No males will bother you once we’re home.”

“Sheesh.  Does
n’t this possessive stuff get tiring?” she asked.

“No.”  That’s all he said.